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There have been very few misses for Ohio State's Ryan Day on the recruiting trail, but this past week had been a rough one for the Buckeyes head coach. In the last week, Ohio State has narrowly missed out on signing top-100 linebacker Justin Hill (Alabama) and #1 wide receiver Dakorien Moore (Oregon), but the Buckeyes got some good news on Saturday afternoon with the commitment of 4-star McKinney, Texas linebacker Riley Pettijohn, the #48 recruit in the class of 2025 according to the ESPN 300.
With nearly thirty Power 4 offers to choose from, Riley Pettijohn narrowed his choices down to four schools — Ohio State, USC, Texas and Texas A&M — and visited each of those schools before making his decision. The versatile linebacker, who has experience playing both on the edge and in the middle of the defense, ultimately chose the Buckeyes, thanks in large part to the recruiting efforts ofOhio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and linebackers coach James Laurinaitis.
James Laurinaitis excelled at linebacker for Ohio State from 2005 to 2008, capturing Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year twice, and being named a Big Ten 1st-Team selection three times during his career. Now, just months after being named to Ryan Day's staff, Laurinaitis has already played a key role in the recruitment of Tarvos Alford and Eli Lee, a pair of 4-star linebackers who will be joining Pettijohn on campus in 2025.
Riley Pettijohn hopes to have a career just as successful in Columbus as his linebackers coach did nearly two decades ago, and given his pedigree, it's reasonable to believe that there's a chance he could approach what Laurinaitis accomplished. A track star as well as a standout linebacker, Pettijohn is fast and athletic, and was initially used as an edge rusher before moving to middle linebacker ahead of his junior season. He finished his junior year with 125 tackles — 11.4 per game — along with 8 tackles for loss, 3 sacks and an interception. Gabe Brooks of 247 Sports writes that Riley Pettijohn, “possesses the physical and athletic traits to become a multi-year high-major starter who could develop into a coveted NFL Draft candidate.”
Pettijohn is just one of many incoming Ohio State recruits who will eventually have their eye on the NFL. As things stand right now, the Buckeyes have the #1 class in the country for 2025, with 22 players already signed, 16 who are in the ESPN 300. That includes the top two cornerbacks in the class (Na'eem Offord and Devin Sanchez), the top safety (Faheem Delane), and three top ten defensive ends (London Merrit, Zahir Mathis and Zion Grady).
Despite facilitating this once in a generation recruiting class, it is not a stretch to suggest that Ryan Day could be coaching for his job in 2024.
Is Ohio State head coach Ryan Day on the hot seat?
In five full seasons as Ohio State's head coach, Ryan Day has never finished a year with more than two losses. His .875 winning percentage at Ohio State is the 2nd-highest among Buckeyes coaches with at least 50 games under their belt, better than Ohio State Hall of Famers Earle Bruce, John Cooper, Jim Tressel, AND Woody Hayes. Aside from his first year at the helm, Day has brought in a top five recruiting class every other season.
So how is it that Ryan Day finds himself on the hot seat?
Well, three consecutive losses to Michigan hurt, especially when you're the only Buckeyes head coach who has lost three consecutive games to Michigan, all as the higher-ranked team going into the matchup. It also doesn't help Ryan Day's cause that he's following Urban Meyer, whose .902 winning percentage and perfectly record against Michigan will likely never be topped. And unlike Meyer, Tressel and Hayes, Day still hasn't won the elusive National Championship that would finally put the proper respect on his name.
Ohio State enters the 2024 season with the second best odds (+400) to win the National Title, trailing only Georgia (+320) according to DraftKings Sportsbook. This might be Day's best, and in the worst case scenario, final chance to bring a National Title back to Columbus.
